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Diamond Trade
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Governments of compliant countries in the Kimberley Process regarding
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the trade in and export of illegal conflict diamonds in (a) Nigeria, (b) Angola, (c) Kenya, (d) Uganda and (e) Cameroon. [128130]
Mr. Rammell: Participating Governments met at the Kimberley Process plenary in April to discuss conflict diamonds. The meeting focussed on compliance by all participants with the minimum common standards set by the Kimberley Process certification scheme. Angola is one of 40 participants in the scheme.
Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Cameroon are not major diamond producers or traders and are not participants in the scheme. There have been no recent discussions within the Kimberley Process about these countries.
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Governments of (a) Nigeria, (b) Angola, (c) Kenya, (d) Uganda and (e) Cameroon regarding the trade in and export of illegal conflict diamonds. [128131]
Mr. Rammell: There have been no recent discussions on diamond trading with these Governments, other than Angola in its capacity as a participant in the Kimberley Process.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. [127874]
Mr. Rammell: Our policy on the Nagorno Karabakh dispute is that we will support any mechanism for its resolution which both parties can accept and which has a realistic chance of delivering a lasting political settlement. The framework for discussing such mechanisms is the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group. The three co-chairs of the Minsk Group, Russia, US and France, have worked very hard to try to move a political process forward.
The UK will be funding a £2 million three year project aiming to improve the prospects for a permanent settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. We shall continue to encourage the governments of both Azerbaijan and Armenia to look to the future and build a better relationship between their two countries.
Sao Tome and Principe
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions he has had with his Portuguese counterpart on the military coup in Sao Tome and Principe; what joint action has been decided; and if he will make a statement; [127256]
- (2) when he last held discussions with the Foreign Minister of Sao Tome; what the outcome of those discussions was; when he next plans to meet with him; and if he will make a statement; [127257]
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(3) what discussions he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on the military coup in Sao Tome and Principe; when these discussions took place; what the conclusion of the discussions was; and if he will make a statement; [127258]
(4) what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the EU's role in securing a speedy return to constitutional order of Sao Tome and Principe; what plans have been made to achieve this; and if he will make a statement. [127263]
Mr. Mullin: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no discussions with his counterpart on the military coup in Sao Tome and Principe. Efforts to mediate a resolution to the political crisis in Sao Tome—following the attempted coup of 16 July—have so far been led by the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, the Chairman of the African Union and the Acting President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). We continue to monitor the situation in consultation with EU Partners, in particular the Portuguese. The UK is represented in Sao Tome by our ambassador in Angola, who has had informal discussions with his EU counterparts.
Sierra Leone
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate the cost of peace-keeping forces in Sierra Leone up to the present time; what additional aid and investment have resulted from that action; and if he will make a statement. [127806]
Mr. Mullin: The UN peacekeeping operation in Sierra Leone. UNAMSIL, was established in 1999. The total cost to the end of the present financial year (31 March 2004) is estimated at £1,894 million, of which the UK's contribution will be £92 million. The secure environment which UNAMSIL has helped to establish has allowed aid programmes to restart and the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of over 50,000 ex-combatants. UNAMSIL has now begun to reduce its numbers and is expected to complete withdrawal from the country in late 2004.
The UK has provided £70 million in aid to Sierra Leone since the war ended in 2001. We have committed ourselves to a ten-year programme of support and have pledged £120 million towards the social and economic development of Sierra Leone over the next three years. Delivery of these funds is dependent on progress by the Government of Sierra Leone on key areas such as security sector reform, regulation of the diamond industry, corruption, government and media reforms, and the development of a poverty reduction strategy.
In October 2002 the first British trade mission in over a decade visited Sierra Leone. Another trade mission will visit later this month and a delegation from the construction and consultancy industries is planned for early 2004.
Somalia
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what participation in the Somali peace process has been undertaken by UK representatives; and if he will make a statement. [127176]
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Mr. Mullin: An official from our High Commission in Nairobi is a member of the international observer group giving informal advice to the reconciliation conference's Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Technical Committee (and its Chair, Ambassador Kiplagat). Britain has also contributed to a number of other initiatives designed to assist the talks, which continue to work towards reconciliation and agreement on an effective and inclusive government for Somalia.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with what Somali groups and human rights organisations his officials have had discussions in the past year; and what his Department's assessment is of the human rights situation in Somalia. [127177]
Mr. Mullin: Officials in Addis Ababa, Nairobi and London have had extensive and regular contacts with large numbers of Somali civil society organisations with an interest in human rights. Without any effective central government in Somalia, and given the number of disparate armed groups, citizens' rights are routinely abused, especially in southern areas in conflict, However, the situation in Somaliland, which has a democratic government and functioning institutions, is better, with no reports of gross human rights violations.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what UK diplomatic staff have visited Mogadishu in the past year. [127178]
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contacts UK representatives have with the effective Government of Somaliland in Hargeisa; and what plans the Government has to grant it diplomatic recognition. [127179]
Mr. Mullin: The British Ambassador in Addis Ababa, his consular and political officers, representatives from our High Commission in Nairobi, and representatives from other Whitehall Departments all visit Hargeisa regularly to meet representatives of the authorities there. There have also been several contacts in Addis Ababa and London. We have no plans to recognise an independent Somaliland.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the number of Somali people in refugee camps in countries neighbouring Somalia who wish to join their families in the United Kingdom; and what facilities are offered in British missions in (a) Addis Ababa and (b) Nairobi to facilitate this. [127512]
Mr. Mullin: There are no reliable data on numbers of Somalis in refugee camps wishing to join relatives with leave to remain in the United Kingdom. Our diplomatic mission in Addis Ababa routinely receives and processes applications from Somalis wishing to settle in Britain. Nairobi suspended its processing operation for Somali settlement visas in November 2002 due to security concerns arising from the Mombasa bombing. Following a recent review, it plans to resume this service on a limited basis in the next few months.
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Uganda
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the impact of proposed changes to the constitution of Uganda with regard to presidential term limits on (a) the democratic development of Uganda and (b) the political stability of Uganda; and if he will make a statement. [128042]
Mr. Mullin: Changes to the Ugandan Constitution are being considered by a Constitutional Review Commission (CRC). The CRC is now finalising its report. We are taking a close interest in its work, and look forward to the publication of the report. Open and inclusive debate of the CRC's recommendations should help promote stability at a time of political change.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of Sudanese support of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda; what discussions he has had on this matter with (a) the Government of Sudan and (b) the Government of Uganda; what the result of the discussions was; and if he will make a statement. [128043]
Mr. Mullin: We have seen no hard evidence that the Sudanese Government is providing support to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda. The UK Special Envoy for Sudan discussed the LRA with President Museveni of Uganda and with the Sudanese Prime Minister in late August. The Government of Sudan said that officers in the Sudanese army who had supplied the LRA on a personal basis had been disciplined, and that there was no official Sudanese support for the LRA.
We welcome the recent appointment of a Ugandan ambassador to Khartoum and the recent visit of senior Ugandan Ministers, and hope that these initiatives will contribute to better understanding and cooperation between the two governments.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the Government of Uganda about proposed changes to the constitution of Uganda with particular reference to presidential term limits; when these discussions took place; what the outcome was; and if he will make a statement. [128045]
Mr. Mullin: My noble Friend the Secretary of State for International Development, discussed the current process of constitutional reform with President Museveni on her visit to Uganda in early August.
An independent Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) in Uganda is currently looking at possible constitutional changes. We are taking a close interest in its important work. It is expected to make recommendations soon. We hope that its proposals will pave the way for a transition to a properly constituted multi-party democracy in Uganda.
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